Curses!
by Stormy1x2
Summary: *hints of shonen-ai* Trunks invites Goten to keep him company on a business trip to China and they wind up falling into some very familiar springs...^_~
1. It Begins...

Hi hi! Boy, it's been a long time since I posted anything new at FFNet - I changed over to mailing lists. ^_^ But I've decided to get back in the swing of things here, and to celebrate, I have a brand new fic for ya! Anyone will tell you I'm a huge fan of cross overs and this one is no different - DBZ meets Ranma 1/2, but no worries! There won't be any Saiyajin Ranma's and Ryoga's roof-hopping their way through Satan City, or anything like that. I just needed the springs. ^_^  
  
Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
  
********   
  
  
  
" Thanks for coming with me!" Trunks shouted. He had to shout because the wind rushing past his ears at several hundred miles per hour created a loud roar that made normal conversational tones near impossible. The recipient of his shouted appreciation waved off-handed.   
  
" Not a problem Trunks!" Goten grinned. " Someone has to come play babysitter for the CEO of Capsule Corp!"   
  
" Nani? Hardly 'Ten - I just need someone to keep me from being bored out of my skull." Trunks growled and folded his arms in a sulky pout as the sliced through a small gathering of fluffy cirrus clouds that dispersed almost immediately. " These meetings are so boring."   
  
" What's this one about anyway?"   
  
" Mining opportunities. Mom's satellites picked up what could be the largest gold deposit ever found. The deeper ground scans showed the vein extending through an entire Chinese mountain range, and tunnelling under the villages that lay within." Trunks swerved a little closer to his best friend so he didn't have to shout quite so loud. " Mom arranged for us to meet with the village elders tomorrow to discuss a mutually beneficial plan to extract the gold at a very fair price for them. It will also help provide them with jobs as we'd be using local labour."   
  
" Wow." Goten absorbed the information. " Gold huh? Like your mother needs more money."   
  
" Goten!" Trunks swatted the dark-haired boy playfully. " That's not what this is about!"   
  
" I know, I know - jeez Trunks!" Goten clutched his scalp in mock-agony. " Oh the pain inflicted on me by my best friend! Oh the pain of it all!"   
  
Trunks shook his head. " You, my friend, are a doof."   
  
" Hey!"   
  
Trunks waved him off as he checked his wristwatch. A small beeping light showed up on the circular graph and Trunks nodded with satisfaction. " We're almost there!"   
  
" Good. I'm hungry."   
  
Trunks snorted. " When are you not?"   
  
" Hey!" Goten blinked as he thought of something. " Are we staying in the village then?"   
  
" Hmmm? Oh - no, mom made reservations at a nearby hotel. It has some awesome hot springs - and right next to it, is reputed to be the best training grounds for martial artists." He grinned. " Mom thought it would appease dad if we stayed there on the pretence of training."   
  
Goten snickered. " Did he buy it?"   
  
Trunks shot him a look that clearly read, 'what-do-YOU-think?'   
  
" Just asking."   
  
" C'mon - it's right down there." Trunks abruptly took a dive, tucking his arms in straight and doing a free-falling spiral towards the ground.   
  
" Show-off!" Goten shouted as he immediately followed in a similar fashion. He soon matched Trunks's speed and the two of them levelled off near the ground, skimming the surface and kicking up a huge cloud of dust and debris behind them. As they neared the spot Trunks said they'd be staying at, Goten took in the surrounding landscape and let out a whistle.   
  
" Kinda barren, aint' it?"   
  
Trunks chuckled. " This is an old-fashioned country, Goten. While the cities are very modern, the villages, especially in remote areas like this, are a bit behind the times. Many of the villages can't afford the new technology, but then again, they don't really need it." He grinned, taking in the same view. " It's kinda cool how their way of life manages to flourish so well despite all the changes and advances around them."   
  
" You sound like a teacher."   
  
" Baka!" Trunks swatted him again and sped up. Goten choked on the dust trail and spluttered before giving chase. He allowed himself to admire the view he had of Trunks flying full-speed ahead of him and smiled to himself. The lavender-haired demi-saiyajin had been in an unusually good mood ever since he'd called the other day to invite Goten on his business trip. He knew Trunks was a history buff - a secret he kept from almost everyone else - and that to come to a historic area like this put him in his glory. Goten liked seeing Trunks happy - it was very rare that Trunks allowed his inner emotions to shine through. But now he was completely relaxed and carefree, and Goten couldn't be happier.   
  
Well, there was one way, but he wasn't ready to even test that idea out yet, and so he upped his power a little until he was even with Trunks.   
  
" So where is it?" he asked again, scanning the horizon.   
  
" Right there." Trunks pointed out an area just ahead and to the left of them, and as they neared it, Goten could make out dozens of sparkling lights which he realized, as he drew closer, were miniature pools, varying to some degree in size, and sparkling in the light of the early afternoon sun. Elongated wooden poles stuck out of each pool of water and Goten wondered briefly what they were for.   
  
Trunks veered off to the side. A small building sat a short distance away from the pools and Goten realized that must be the hotel where they would be staying. As they touched down, Goten noticed a severe lack of customers and wondered what he reason could be. It certainly was beautiful territory - one would think this place would be chock-full of tourists. He said as much to Trunks who was dusting himself off.   
  
" Remind me next time not to wear black when we're travelling through this kind of terrain," Trunks commented lightly before addressing Goten's remark. " I don't know Goten - even mom was surprised though, when she was able to book us our rooms with out a problem." He shrugged.   
  
Rooms. Plural. As in more then one. Goten stifled a sigh of regret and dusted himself off as well. The two were dressed casually in their training gear. In Trunks's case it was a pair of black loose pants, a black tank top, his boots and his Capsule Corp jacket. Goten on the other hand, wore a scruffy pair of jeans that were so ripped Chi Chi threatened to throw them out if she ever saw them again, and a blue and white hockey jersey he'd gotten while on vacation to Canada a few years back. He grinned at the memory - that had been another business trip he'd gone on with Trunks. They'd had fun at the hockey game, even if Trunks had gotten into a fight with one of the players in the penalty box. They'd nearly been kicked out until the manager realized Trunks was head of one of the largest shareholders the building had.   
  
He was shook from his reverie when Trunks opened the hotel door and waited for him to go in. Goten skipped through, ducking lightly as he sensed Trunks' hand come up to swat him again and sauntered up to the counter, ignoring the muttered " baka," that came from behind.   
  
" Hi!" he chirped. The counter girl looked at him, amused.   
  
" Nihao!" she said with a smile. " Welcome to Jusenkyo Springs."   
  
" Arigato," Trunks smiled briefly. " Watashi wa Trunks Briefs."   
  
" Son Goten!" Goten waved cheerily. The girl chuckled.   
  
" My name is Peach. My grandfather and I run this resort. If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to ask me."   
  
Goten grinned. " I was hoping you'd say that. I was wondering - are we the only ones here?" He gestured to the beautiful landscape outside the door. " I can't believe this place isn't crowded beyond belief - you've got a awesome view here."   
  
Peach laughed. " Our resort is kind of exclusive," she admitted. " We do not advertise, and we do not want or need large crowds. We prefer a small clientele."   
  
" Aa." Trunks nodded. " Don't let my mother hear that - she'd be praying to the advertising Gods for the safety of your marketing souls."   
  
" I will remember that," Peach agreed with a smile. " At any rate, we have been expecting you. May I show you to your rooms?"   
  
" Please."   
  
The rooms were actually separate from the main building in small, two-bedroom bungalows, Trunks noticed as they left the reservation area and entered an enclosed walkway. As they passed through the large-windowed hallway, Goten paused and pointed out the window to the springs in the distance. " I heard that's one of the best training grounds for martial artists. Is that true?"   
  
It seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Peach froze in mid-step, and turned around quickly. " No. It is not. " A worried air clouded her previously clear aura and she glanced at the springs with a sort of despairing look. " Those springs are dangerous for swimming and are for viewing only. Please stay away from them." She smiled brightly at them suddenly. " If you desire to bathe in the springs, we have natural hot springs that are much safer on the other side of the compound. I will show you to them if you wish?"   
  
Goten blinked. " I..guess. But why are those springs dangerous? And what's with the poles?"   
  
Peach sighed. " The poles were once used for balancing exercises. They have been left there for old times sake but are no longer in use and haven't been so in a very long time. As for why the springs are dangerous...." she glanced at Goten with a serious expression. " They are cursed."   
  
" Cursed?" Trunks scoffed with a snort. " Like haunted?"   
  
" Some would say the effects of the Jusenkyo Springs are quite haunting," she agreed. " Please heed my warning and do not go into the pools. It is one of the rules of the resort that we have made to protect our customers."   
  
Goten could see Trunks was about to argue that they didn't require protection and latched onto Peach's arm, escorting her up the hallway and effectively ending an argument before it could start. " Of course, Miss Peach. Now tell me - are you single?" He batted his eyes flirtatiously at the blushing brunette.  
  
Trunks blinked and sighed before following quietly.  
  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
" Ka-knock, ka-knock!" Goten rapped on the door sharply before taking the initiative and letting himself into Trunks's room. He swept the room with his eyes, noting that it was almost exactly the same as his. A large wooden dresser lay against one wall, with an attached unit that housed a large-screen TV and VCR. Under the window at the end of the room, a small marble table was pushed up against the external vent, with two comfortable looking chairs on either side. The door to the bathroom where Trunks apparently was currently lay just beyond the dining set-up, and little wisps of steam could be seen billowing up from the crack between the doorway and the floor. 'Must be taking a shower.' There was a hanging closet just down from the bathroom door and as Goten's eyes completed the circuit around the room, he finished with the large, king-sized bed with what looked like the comfiest pillows he'd ever seen. With a wicked gleam, Goten pounced on the bed, snuggling into the thick comforter and burrowing his head in the pillows.   
  
'My bed's not this comfortable,' he mentally pouted. He toyed briefly with the idea of asking Trunks to share - certainly the beating he'd receive would be worth the expression on his face right? He chuckled and closed his eyes. It was so warm, he might as well wait right here until Trunks was done in the shower...  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Trunks opened the bathroom door with a wave of steam rushing past his ears, making his toes curl as he met the contrasting and refreshing coolness of the room. Padding quickly over to the dresser, he pulled out a change of clothes that looked remarkably similar to the ones he had arrived in and dressed quickly. He turned then and suddenly understood why he had felt Goten's aura when he had been under the hot shower.   
  
The raven-haired demi-saiyajin was curled up on his bed, snoozing away. The thick black spikes of hair that normally seemed to defy gravity had given in to the laws of physics and fell across his face. They seemed to tickle his nose; Trunks watched in amusement as Goten's nose twitched and he raised one hand up to clumsily swipe the offending strands out of the way, only to have them fall exactly back into place a minute later.  
  
'Kawaii....' The thought appeared out of the blue and Trunks instantly flushed bright red to the roots of his purple hair and he instantly shut that thought out of his mind. What would Goten say if he head heard that?  
  
One would wonder about the state of Trunks's mind if they could catch that line of thought, seeing as how he didn't actually voice it out loud. But somewhere along the way, their years of close friendship had formed a bond that rivalled that of siblings and was only reinforced by their fusion attack which made them of one mind and body, susceptible to the thoughts and emotions of the other. If he were going to be thinking thoughts like that, he'd better raise his walls damn quick.  
  
'And if,' Trunks moaned mentally,' I raise those walls like that, Goten will sense it and instantly wonder what's wrong and then we get into a whole realm of trouble and...'  
  
He smacked his forehead sharply and turned away from the sight on the bed before he woke Goten with his mental meandering.  
  
Grabbing a brush, he pulled it through his still-damp hair and then debated about how to wake the sleeping Saiyajin. A smile spread across his face as he remembered how Goku used to wake the two of them when they were on one of their sleepovers. He crept to the side of the bed.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Goten was having a wonderful dream where he was reclining on a bed of silk sheets and sumptuous pillows, straight out of Arabian Nights, being hand-fed chocolate-covered strawberries and banana slices from scantily clad handmaidens. The maidens were giggling and he was enjoying the delicious food when all of a sudden the girls morphed into a single person with lavender hair and piercing blue eyes that leaned in close to him and whispered-  
  
" WAKE UP GOTEN!! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!!"  
  
" YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Goten shrieked and literally jumped up to the ceiling, clinging to the underside of the wooden crossbeam like a scared cat, eyes wide as he whipped his head around searching for a threat. " WHERE?"  
  
Trunks hit the spot on the bed that Goten had just vacated with a howl of laughter. He rolled on to his back so he could peer up at the frazzled Son, tears of mirth streaming from his eyes. Goten's heart rate slowly calmed down to its original speed as he realized what had just happened, and a grin threatened to form as he watched Trunks acting playful.  
  
" You jerk!" he shouted down at his chuckling best friend. " You nearly gave me a heart attack!"  
  
" Are you alive?"  
  
" I think so," Goten growled. He looked down and judged his approximate landing. He let the grin loose.  
  
" BONZAI!"  
  
Trunks's laugh turned into a yelp as Goten fell from the ceiling directly on top of him, squishing him into the mattress before rolling off and landing with a thump on the floor. Goten smirked smugly at him as he pretended to brush imaginary lint off him. Trunks clawed his way up from under the comforter and scowled at him.  
  
" Well, that was amusing," Goten drawled. " What's next?"  
  
Trunks was about to make a sarcastic comment when twin roars echoed throughout the room. As the din faded away, the two looked at their stomachs and then back up at each other, nodding in agreement.  
  
" Food."  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
On their way back from the delicious dinner provided by Peach, supplemented by capsules of stored food from Bulma who had no desire to send the little resort into bankruptcy trying to keep two half-Saiyajins fed, Goten's attention once again settled on the grouping of pools in the distance.  
  
" Neh Trunks?"  
  
" No Goten."  
  
" Hidoi!" he protested. " You don't even know what I was going to say!"  
  
" Does it have anything to do with those springs Peach told us about?"  
  
" Uh...."  
  
" No Goten."  
  
" You're no fun," he pouted. " Beside's, I would have thought you'd want to go and see them close up - you were the one arguing with her after all."  
  
Trunks glared at him. " I was not arguing with her. I just don't like being told I need protection." He growled, looking away. " It's bad enough dad keeps calling me a wimp - I don't need strangers thinking I need help."  
  
Goten paused, and raked a hand through his hair, eyeing his friend. " You okay Trunks?"  
  
" Hai. Just tired I guess."  
  
Goten snapped his fingers. " I know just what you need."  
  
Trunks blinked at him. " Sleep?"  
  
" A good spar!" Goten slapped him on the back, knocking him forward a step. " It'll clear your mind, help ya sleep better. What do you say?"  
  
" I say you're trying to find any excuse to go see the training springs." Trunks arched an eyebrow. " Right?"  
  
" You betcha!" Goten nodded. " C'mon Trunks - it won't hurt anything! And beside's, your mom told Vegeta that we'd be training there anyway - we don't want to make a liar out of her, right?"  
  
" Little manipulative - I though I was the corporate schmuck here?"   
  
" I learn very quickly, oh wise one. Can we? Please?" Goten batted his eyes. " Pretty please?"  
  
Trunks sighed and glanced over at the springs. For some reason, the springs didn't appeal to him. They almost made him uneasy, even though he couldn't really sense a threat, per se - just a vague sense of foreboding. 'Still', he thought, glancing from the springs to Goten and then back again. 'They are pretty. And Goten really wants to go...'  
  
Goten knew he had won as soon as Trunks' shoulders slumped in resignation and he grinned wildly, thumping Trunks on the back once more before taking off in the direction of the cursed springs.  
  
" Yatta! C'mon Trunks - let's go!"  
  
" You little - wait up!"  
  
Trunks launched himself into the air, putting on a quick burst of speed, enough to overtake his friend. Within minutes they were nearing the pools and as soon as they came into view Goten let out a cry. Seconds later Trunks watched, stunned, as Goten dropped out of the sky like a stone. About to go after him, Trunks suddenly felt his own power fluctuating, flickering in and out. Then his aura dropped completely and he followed Goten snoot-first into the ground, ploughing a trail of dirt a meter long.  
  
Across from him, Goten raised his head and spit out a mouthful of dirt.  
  
" Itai," he moaned. " Trunks, what happened? Did you see what hit us?"  
  
Trunks coughed and hacked up a dirt farm of his own before answering. " Nothing hit us Goten. One minute we're flying, next minute we're falling."  
  
" Well, you're the genius boy here," Goten muttered, pushing himself up. " Fix it!"  
  
" Oh yeah. Easy." Trunks sat up and shook his head. Then he froze. " Goten - I can barely sense your ki."  
  
" Huh?" Goten's eyes narrowed. " Yours too Trunks - it's lower then a.."  
  
"--then a humans ki," Trunks finished for him, nodding. He looked up and around, searching for a possible explanation. His eyes lit on a weatherworn sign a few meters away, hand painted with Chinese characters. Goten followed his gaze and squinted at the sign.  
  
" Can you read that?"  
  
" Give me a second," Trunks muttered, converting the Chinese characters to Japanese words in his mind. While not his specialty, he could still read Mandarin. He briefly thanked his mother mentally for her insistence that he learn other languages. " It says Cursed Jusenkyo Springs - Do Not Enter."  
  
" Cool. At least we made it all the way here before our little swan dive." Goten stood up and brushed himself off. " You coming?"  
  
" Goten!" Trunks stared at him. " Don't you want to know why our powers failed first? "  
  
" It's because of the curse, silly!" Goten grinned. " Peach said it was haunted."  
  
" Please don't tell me you believe in that junk."  
  
" Well, what other reason is there? Beside's," Goten added. " After all the weird things we've seen in our lives, what's a little curse? And don't tell me you don't believe in magic - what about Babbidi, huh? Remember him?"  
  
" I try not to." Trunks' voice was cold. Goten flinched - wrong subject.  
  
" Sorry."  
  
" No prob."  
  
" So let's go!" Goten started walking towards the springs. A light mist covered the springs, refracting the fading light of the setting sun into a myriad of colors that painted the landscape in front of him. The result was really quite breathtaking and Goten wondered again why such a natural treasure wasn't on display as some kind of park or something. Trunks followed behind him, warily eyeing the pools of water as though expecting someone or something to attack them at any moment. Goten stopped at another sign.   
  
This one was even older then the first, moss-covered around the edges, faded from years of exposure to the sun, rain, heat and cold. The ancient characters were scratched and hard to see. Goten squatted in front of it and brushed off some of the moss and clinging vines, blowing the dirt away. There seemed to be some diagrams of stick figures balancing on top of the sticks.  
  
" Trunks? What does this sign say?"  
  
Trunks walked over and knelt down to take a closer look. " Lemme see...it says that the object of the training is to improve mid-air combat techniques by using the poles as platforms. This emphasizes natural agility, balance, skill and speed." His brow creased. " The word natural is underlined twice. I wonder..."  
  
Trunks abruptly stood and walked a short distance away. Goten blinked, watching. " Trunks?"  
  
" Shhh...." Trunks closed his eyes and extended his aura. That same sense of foreboding he had earlier came back full force. That was another thing - he could sense his ki, and Goten's. They just seemed...suppressed. He opened his eyes and walked back to the sign, studying it intently.  
  
" What's up Trunks?"  
  
" I think I know what happened to our ki," Trunks said slowly. " This place has its own kind of aura...almost mystical compared to ours. It's suppressing our ki so that we have no choice but to use our natural abilities when training here."  
  
" Really?" Goten closed his eyes, trying to sense whatever it was that Trunks had. " I don't get it."  
  
" To be honest, neither do I," shrugged Trunks. " Wanna call it quits Chibi?" The idea of sparring without the use of their ki was slightly unnerving.  
  
Goten growled good-naturedly at the nickname and shook his head. " Nu-uh! Let's do it!"  
  
With that, he leapt onto the pole closest to him. He wobbled slightly as he automatically reached for his ki to level him out, forgetting that he couldn't. " Whoa.." He finally righted himself, balancing on one foot and the toe of the other. Trunks watched, amused.  
  
" Having fun?"  
  
" It's harder then it looks," Goten admitted. " But what the heck - a challenge is a challenge, right? " His voice took on a wheedling tone. " C'mon Trunks! This is cool!"  
  
Trunks sighed. He still had a bad feeling about this, like they would regret being here later. But a part of him wanted to show Goten that he could do it too and he shrugged off his Capsule Corp jacket, dropping it to the ground. With one graceful leap, he landed neatly on an opposing pole from Goten, arms spread in a ready position. Goten scowled.  
  
" Show off."  
  
Trunks grinned, baring his teeth. " Let's do it!"  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It happened so suddenly. A dazzling mid-air kick met a strong block, followed by an uppercut that met another kick. Blow after blow hit, missed, landed and struck again. What happened next was inevitable.  
  
A mutual blow connected sending both combatants flying backwards into the pools. Two heads lifted from the water gasping.  
  
A minute later, horrified screams and yowls rent the air.  
  
  
At the receptionist desk in the main building, Peach heard the distant wails and knew. She sighed, shaking her head, and picked up the phone.  
  
" Grandpa? It happened again..."  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
End Prologue  
  
  
Well? Whatcha think?? And while I write fics regardless of how many reviews I get (I don't stoop to that kind of literary blackmail which I personally find highly offensive), reviews remind that the fic exists, and encourages me to write faster! ^_^ So tell me - did this catch your interest?  
  
And check out my home page for a lot more fics and pics and stuff!  



	2. Welcome home!

See? A few reviews and look what they do - inspire!   
  
Actually, the idea for this chapter was haunting my dreams last night   
and so this morning, instead of a final review for my quizz in   
Private Policing today, I wrote this out! ^_^ I hope it was worth it!  
  
  
Chapter 1 - Welcome Home  
  
  
  
Vegeta folded his arms and adjusted his stance for the third time in   
nearly an hour. Training was out of the question - he was too   
unfocused at the moment to train properly, and once again, his eyes   
scanned the horizon, brows drawn together in a perpetual scowl.  
  
It didn't suit the Prince of Saiyajins to show worry or concern. His   
current state of emotion was completely unacceptable. He knew this,   
and told himself this repeatedly.  
  
It didn't help. Vegeta shifted his stance again as he growled   
mentally. Sometime last night he had felt his son's ki drop   
dramatically. It had woken him out of a sound sleep after a hard day   
of training and an even harder session with his wife, making him sit   
up in shock. The bond he had formed with his son at his birth,   
however reluctantly, allowed him a way to keep tabs on the boy's well-  
being, much the same way as he did with his mate, and when his son's   
alarm had pierced his sub-consciousness like a high-voltage jolt that   
previous evening, he had almost been ready to fly out the window to   
see what the new threat was.   
  
Then his son's ki had returned, albeit a little more subdued then   
normal, and Vegeta had relaxed a bit, monitering the fluctuating   
levels absently. It was harder to do, the distance between him and   
son playing a key factor in his ability to judge his family's safety,   
and the fact that the level was so low. But everything seemed normal;   
if he stretched his senses, he could even sense Kakorrott's brat as   
well. The colliding auras told Vegeta that the two were sparring, and   
he had started drifting off again, thinking their levels were so low   
because once again they were pounding the holy hell out of each   
other. For that, he wasn't worried. They each had a small supply of   
senzu beans on them.  
  
No, what had Vegeta unnerved was what appeared to be the aftermath of   
their sparring. A shock had jolted him awake - AGAIN - and after   
cursing a blue streak about bonds, brats and stupid human emotions,   
Vegeta had calmed down enough to feel what had woken him up. His   
son's aura was...different.  
  
That was unusual. Everyone had an aura, an inner essence that you   
emitted from the day you were born. Strong, weak, able to manipulate   
to the point of throwing ki blasts - it didn't matter what species   
you were. Every living creature had a kind of `stamp' on them, and   
beings such as himself who had trained their whole lives to recognize   
and use their ki could easily `read' a person's essence and tell who   
it was, their power, etc cetera, et cetera. Vegeta could easily   
recognize any of the aura's of the Z fighters and their families,   
having been exposed to them for such a long time. Even his wife had a   
recognizable aura, puny as it was. His son's was usually easy to   
identify - strong, vibrant. A color was usually reflected by the   
aura, and while in Super Saiyajin form they all had golden colors, at   
rest or even at play, Trunks' aura was a deep royal purple. While   
Vegeta had always mocked his son for his hair color, he had secretly   
always thought the color of his son's aura fitting. After all, wasn't   
he too a Prince of the Saiyajin race? And the royal colors were   
black, purple and red.   
  
Last night, Trunks' aura had taken a dip in power - and stayed that   
way for some time. He seemed weaker, and his ki had a sort of taint   
to it that he couldn't identify. If he closed his eyes and searched   
for his son's aura, he could see the deep purple now had shots of   
violet, ad swirls of black roiling through it. Vegeta shifted once   
again. A person's aura just couldn't change that much, especially in   
one night. He thought back to his battle with Babbidi, and remembered   
a hushed Kakorrott telling him years later that he had been creeped   
out by the fact that Vegeta's normally royal blue aura had been   
streaked with black. A color change in aura usually signified some   
sort of possession. Was his son possessed?  
  
Then there was the added enigma of Kakorrott's brat. While Vegeta   
didn't share a blood bond with the spawn, he nonetheless retained a   
sort of awareness about the other Saiyajins on earth. He didn't   
question it - it was a part of him. As his father before him had held   
a power over his entire race, being aware of them in the heart of his   
being, so to did Vegeta, the Crown Prince, share the same ability,   
born into it as a Royal Saiyajin. For better or for worse, he would   
always be able to tell if any of the other earth Saiyajins died. He   
had when his planet had been destroyed - the grief nearly unbearable -  
and it was no different here. The point was, that Goten's aura had   
changed too.  
  
He closed his eyes and concentrated, noting absently that Kakorrott   
wasn't even awake. What kind of father was he? What kind of a   
Saiyajin? Vegeta dismissed it as being a third-class thing and   
decided if Kakorrott wouldn't check on his son, he might as well.   
  
Goten's aura was usually like that of his fathers, a deep rich red   
that flowed to golden in the throes of battle. But now, as Vegeta   
focused, he could see that, like his son, the spawn's aura had been   
somehow mutated slightly, with streaks of white, yellow and black   
lacing the red that had faded a bit, taking on an orange-ish tone.   
How bizarre.  
  
Vegeta was snapped from his musings by the appearance of two energy   
levels approaching on the horizon, and his eyes opened. He instantly   
recognized the two aura's as being that of his son, and that of the   
spawn. But the silhouettes were different - something wasn't right.   
The first he could tell was Goten, and he was racing towards him   
faster then any speed he had ever seen the boy capable of. But that   
wasn't what surprised the hell out of him - it was the fact that   
Goten was running on all fours...  
  
Vegeta gave a surprised -and very undignified - squawk as a huge   
Siberian tiger lunged over the last hillcrest and landed on Capsule   
Corp property. Instinctively his hand rose, a ki blast forming a the   
tips of his fingers, ready to destroy the huge animal as it darted   
its head around in a near panic. The animal's eyes then settled on   
him, and Vegeta froze as the tiger's eyes widened to the size of   
dinner plates, collapsing to the ground instantly, and burying its   
head under its gigantic paws, whimpering pathetically. Still frozen,   
the shock allowed Vegeta's sense enough time to sneak out and   
identify the animal.  
  
" GOTEN?!?"  
  
" GET BACK HERE YOU MANGY, FLEA-BITTEN EXCUSE FOR A FUR COAT!!"  
  
A piercing shriek jolted Vegeta from his trance and he turned in time   
to see shock number two: a slender young girl with long purple hair   
and flashing blue eyes, wearing his son's training gear and swinging   
his sword had just leapt onto his property. The tiger's head snapped   
up at the shriek, and Vegeta watched, stupefied, as the large animal,   
with razor-sharp claws and huge teeth, bounded to its feet and ran   
away from the screaming banshee who was hot on his heels.  
  
" WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I'M GONNA USE YOUR HIDE FOR A RUG! QUIT   
RUNNING AWAY YOU COWARD! TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN!"  
  
Each scream was punctuated by a furious swipe of the sword, and the   
tiger actually yelped as the girl came close to slicing off the tip   
of his tail. Vegeta's mind came back into his body with a thud, and   
he regained his voice.  
  
" WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" He roared. The sheer volume, and the   
crackling of his ki got their attention in a hurry. The tiger   
screeched to a halt, and the girl slid into him, bouncing off and   
landing on the ground with a thump.  
  
" Itai.."  
  
Vegeta stared at the two who had come to a halt directly in front of   
him. He couldn't believe it but the auras of the two before him   
matched the auras he had assigned to his son and Goten in his mind   
the other night. The fact that the girl was dressed in Trunks'   
training gear and carrying his sword was also a dead giveaway, but   
his mind still refused to process what he was seeing. Had Bulma seen   
him just then, she would have marked the day down on her calendar as   
the day her husband was shocked speechless.  
  
" You..."  
  
" Um...." The girl flushed a bright red, scratching the back of her   
head in embarrassment. " Ohayo `tousan..."  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Vegeta couldn't take his eyes off the spectacle even if he tried. His   
mind still in shock, all he could do was watch the bickering taking   
place. The girl - `Trunks' his mind whispered in confusion - was   
radiating with rage as she stood nose-to-snout with the huge animal,   
screaming. What boggled his mind even more, was that she seemed to   
understand the growls and snarls coming from the tiger - `Goten' his   
mind supplied helpfully - and that they seemed to be having an   
argument.  
  
" THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT AND YOU KNOW IT GOTEN!"  
  
Growl, snarl.  
  
" WELL, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO GO THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!"  
  
Snarl, growl, small roar.  
  
" WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DIDN'T ARGUE? "  
  
Growl, whine, whimper.  
  
" Oh you didn't mean to. Uh-huh - LIKE THAT MAKES IT BETTER? "  
  
Whimper.  
  
" THAT WON'T WORK WITH ME YOU STRIPED FURBALL! I'M A **GIRL**!"  
  
" ENOUGH!" Vegeta roared, his head aching from all the shouting. "   
Silence, the both of you!"  
  
The two froze, stiffening instantly, though Vegeta's anger didn't   
stop the girl from delivering one last, blistering stare at the poor   
Tiger who hung his head. Vegeta eyed the two of them, taking a deep   
breath. He addressed the girl.  
  
" Trunks?"   
  
The girl flinched at the disbelieving tone in her father's voice. "   
Hai, `tousan."  
  
Vegeta shook his head. He had a feeling he shouldn't have left the   
gravity room. He was about to say something else when a familiar   
voice called out from the house.  
  
" Vegeta? Is Trunks back?"  
  
Vegeta muffled a smirk as the girl's eyes widened in alarm, her face   
going ten shades of pale. It always both annoyed and amused him that   
Trunks had always been more afraid of his mother then of him,   
remembering an incident when Trunks was younger. The boy had told his   
friend Goten that at least, thanks to all the sparring they did, he   
was used to Vegeta's `training sessions' when he was bad, working   
until he collapsed of exhaustion. ` But kaasan,' Trunks said to Goten   
in a hushed whisper, ` takes stuff away. And she screams louder too.'  
  
Although he was still in a stuporm he couldn't resist. His eyes took   
on a kind of sadistic gleam, and he raised his voice. " Yes woman,   
the brat is out here."  
  
Trunks' panicked eyes looked at her father in a combination of   
comical terror and betrayal.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Bulma stomped through the kitchen, muttering angrily.  
  
" When I get my hands on that son of mine..."  
  
She had just gotten off the phone with the leader of the village that   
Trunks was supposed to have struck a deal with. The village elder had   
called, concerned that she may have changed her mind about the mining   
plans, and Bulma had spent the better part of an hour calming the   
woman down, saying that there had been an emergency that had come up   
and that Trunks had been unable to make it to their scheduled   
meeting. After rescheduling and reassuring the woman not to worry,   
that Capsule Corp was still interested, Bulma had hung up in a not-so-  
good mood.  
  
She opened the fridge door with a little more force then necessary   
and grabbed an apple that had miraculously survived the assault by   
her husband in search of breakfast that morning and tore into it   
savagely. Oh was Trunks gonna hear from her...  
  
Suddenly, she heard the familiar baritone of her husband speaking in   
low tones outside the house, the sounds carrying through the open   
kitchen window. She heard her son's name and her eyes widened before   
narrowing.  
  
" Vegeta? Is Trunks out there?  
  
There was a brief pause and then she heard Vegeta's voice. " Yes   
woman, the brat is out here."   
  
He sounded different, she mused to herself absently as she stormed   
out the back door, senses keen for battle. Yes, she may not be a   
Saiyajin, but she could hold her own in a verbal fight. She grinned -   
Trunks never fought back against her.  
  
She slowed her steps as she reached the gathering. Her husband stood   
there before a young girl and a huge tiger. Her initial instinct was   
to scream and run back to the house, but the rational part of her   
mind scolded her, reminding her that her husband was right there and   
wouldn't let anything happen to her. Her heartbeat still sped up   
though, as she approached, going right to her husband's side and   
latching on to his right arm - being right handed, that was the arm   
that threw the first ki ball...  
  
She cleared her throat. " I-I thought you said Trunks was out here."   
Her eyes fell upon the young girl who was blushing furiously. She was   
quite the pretty one. Bulma had that quick moment of jealousy that   
all women felt when they saw their guy with another woman but the   
bond she had with her husband beat that train of thought firmly into   
the ground. " Who's this-"  
  
She stopped, and then really took a good look at the girl. Long   
violet hair. Trunks' clothes. His sword. She swallowed hard. "   
Vegeta..."  
  
" Yes?" Vegeta was enjoying this.  
  
She let go of her husband. Keeping a wary eye on the tiger that had a   
suspiciously sheepish expression on its face, she approached the   
girl, eyeing her up and down. The girl blushed even harder, fidgeting   
under the scrutiny.  
  
" Ohayo `kaasan," she said, her voice small. Bulma blinked.  
  
" Trunks..." she said faintly, questioningly. The girl nodded   
timidly. " Trunks?" Another nod. Bulma remembered who her son was   
supposed to be travelling with and her jaw dropped even further. She   
turned slowly and faced the tiger, finally placing that sheepish   
expression. " G-Goten?"  
  
The tiger mewled and nodded its huge head.  
  
Vegeta waited to see what his wife would do, not at all surprised   
that she had figured it out so quickly. Physically strong, she may   
not be, but no one could ever say that she wasn't intelligent. Bulma   
took a step back.  
  
" I...see."  
  
Trunks shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the   
other. " `Kaasan?"  
  
" Trunks..."  
  
" `Kaasan!" A little more forcefully and Bulma snapped out of her   
daze.  
  
" Trunks - WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Bulma circled her son, staring at   
his amazing new physique, noting almost jealously that he had a   
better figure then her. " And Goten! Explain! Now!"  
  
" It's kind of a long story, `kaasan," Trunks muttered, glancing at   
the tiger in irritation who shrugged and licked his chops. " Maybe we   
should get Goten's family over here before we start - I don't want to   
explain everything over and over again."  
  
Bulma was about to argue when she pressed her lips together firmly   
and nodded slowly. " Very well." She turned to go and do just that.   
Her son's voice stopped her.  
  
" `Kaasan?"  
  
" Yes?"  
  
" Could we have some hot water?" A low growl accompanied that   
sentiment. Bulma nodded again.  
  
" Okay..."  
  
" C'mon Goten," the girl growled. " You can grab a spare set of   
clothes from my room. Then I can kick your ass from here back to   
China."  
  
The tiger whimpered as he followed his friend into the house. Vegeta   
blinked again, before shaking his head and going inside.  
  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
End Chapter 1  
  
You may have noticed that when I write from Trunks' POV, he refers to   
himself as a she but when Bulma saw him, he was still a he. That was   
intentional - bulma is in sock, and only thinks of him as male, even   
with his decidely un-male attributes. ^_^  
  
C&C please!  
  
  
Stormy  
  



	3. Explanations!

Geez, this fic is practically writing itself! ^_^ Enjoy! And if anyone wants to archive it, go right ahead! Otherwise, previous parts can currently be found at FFnet!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 2 - Explanations  
  
  
Chi Chi accepted a cup of tea from Bulma with a nod of thanks and sipped at it slowly, keeping her eyes on the group spread around the room. Vegeta was standing against the wall, eyes closed, while Bra played with her dolls by his feet. Bulma was pacing back and forth after distributing drinks like a good hostess, muttering under her breath. Chi Chi still had no idea why she was here, or what was so important that Goku had been ordered by Bulma to transport the two of them over right that very second. She saw the paleness of the heiress's face and wondered if there was some sort of new threat lurking over the horizon that would call upon her Goku to go and risk his life fighting again. Her eyes widened. And Gohan too - and Videl with little baby Pan...  
  
" NO!" she shouted, slamming her teacup down on the table. It rattled under the impact and everyone's head snapped up and stared at her incredulously. " I won't let them fight, do you hear me? No more!"  
  
" Chi?" Goku held up his hands in a placating manner. " What are you talking about?"  
  
" Don't you even THINK about leaving me Goku!" she shouted. 'Where did I leave my frying pan...'  
  
Bulma sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose. " Chi Chi, what do you think is going on here?"  
  
Chi Chi looked at her distrustingly. " Every time we get together like this, it's because someone has a new enemy to report. That leads to fighting and violence and Goku usually dying. I don't want to have it happen again!" She folded her arms and stared at them all defiantly.  
  
Vegeta snorted. " Trust the harpy to come to a conclusion that of course is wrong."  
  
Chi Chi saw red. " WHAT did you call me?"  
  
" Chi Chi! Turn it down a notch, will ya?" Bulma snapped, her already-worn nerves teetering at the fraying point. " We're not here because of some enemy. Trunks and Goten have something to explain to us."  
  
" Trunks? Goten?" Chi Chi was momentarily derailed. " I thought they wouldn't be back until at least tomorrow. Is something wrong?"  
  
Bulma let out a high-pitched laugh. " Wrong? I don't know yet."  
  
Confused, Chi Chi looked at Goku but he shrugged, obviously as clueless as she was. 'Well,' she thought. 'As long as it's not a fight.' She sat back down slowly and picked up her teacup again.  
  
Thumps were heard overhead, and racing down the stairs. Chi Chi watched in surprise as her youngest son leaped through the archway into the living room, vaulted the couch she was sitting on and ended up behind her, peering over one shoulder nervously. " Goten?"   
  
Goku blinked at the speedy arrival of his son. Then he looked again, frowning slightly. He glanced up as though to confirm something with Vegeta and started as the Prince nodded once. He sat back, thoroughly confused. Bulma looked at Goten.  
  
" What's wrong?"  
  
" He's gonna kill me!" he whimpered, clutching the back of the couch and his mother's dress protectively. Bulma sighed.  
  
" Trunks is not going to kill-"  
  
At that moment, her son stalked into the room, eyes narrowed as he searched for his prey. Bulma saw the look in his eyes and amended her words.  
  
" Or maybe he will. " She quickly stepped in front of him and he froze, looking up at her quizzically. " Simmer down, Trunks - you can't kill him yet."  
  
" Yet?" Goten's outraged voice floated from behind the sofa.  
  
Chi Chi was getting annoyed. " What's going on here? Why is Trunks trying to kill Goten? I thought they were best friends! And Goten, why are you wearing Trunks's clothes?" She growled. " Someone better explain why I was rushed over here."  
  
Bulma looked at Vegeta who shrugged and looked at Trunks who was busy sending death glares in Goten's direction. " Trunks?"  
  
Trunks finally looked up. " Hai?"  
  
" Are you going to show then tell?"  
  
Trunks sighed unhappily. " If I have to."  
  
" Seeing is believing, kiddo," Bulma said gently. She was still in shock herself - she could only imagine what Chi Chi would do. She figured Goku would be surprised but would ultimately end up thinking it was pretty cool, and Vegeta...she sent a wary glance at her silent husband. She couldn't really tell what he was thinking right now. She glanced at her daughter. " Bra, honey - how about you go outside and play for a little bit, okay?"  
  
" Okay momma!" the little girl chirped and left the room, taking her dolls with her. Trunks's eyes followed his little sister as though he wanted to follow her example and leave too.   
  
Bulma silently handed her son a glass of water who didn't take it at first, but stared at it bitterly. She sighed and then upended it, dousing the boy completely.  
  
At first, Chi Chi didn't know what was going on. Why did Bulma soak Trunks like that? And what were they supposed to show her. She opened her mouth to ask when her eyes fell on two new...assets that now belonged to Trunks. She closed her mouth and stared.  
  
" Trunks.." Chi Chi blinked and blinked again. " You're a-"  
  
" A GIRL!" Trunks snapped, folding her arms across her chest, and hunching in on herself miserably. Chi Chi stared at her, flabbergasted. Goku looked amazed.  
  
" Really? A girl?" He stood up and bounded over to Trunks, peering down at her. " Wow Trunks - you shrunk a bit! And your hair's lighter too! That's really amazing!" Trunks snarled and tried to bite the hand that was poking her new hair color.  
  
Goten snickered from behind his mother. " At least he's a good-looking girl."  
  
Trunks erupted from the couch, knocking Goku on to the ground. Snatching the second glass from her mother, she leaped over the second couch and splashed the liquid into her friends face. " Well, at least *I* stay HUMAN!" she shouted.   
  
Chi Chi shrieked as her son transformed in front of her, his face morphing into that of a feline's. Goten's huge bulk upended the couch, dumping his mother on to the floor and he growled in distress, curling up and backing away from a glowering Trunks who clenched her hands, wishing she had her sword handy. Chi Chi backed away from the tiger, scrambling along the floor until she hit the coffee table.  
  
" Goten?" she whispered in a hushed voice. " Is that you?"  
  
The tiger nodded, trying to look pathetic. Chi Chi stood up and slowly moved towards the large cat, reaching out with one shaking hand. As her hand touched the soft silky fur of his snout, her mind confirmed that yes, this was real, and yes her son was now a tiger. She nodded once and then crumpled to the floor in a dead faint.  
  
Vegeta snorted. " Typical."  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
When Chi Chi awoke, Bulma was hovering over her with a sympathetic smile. She looked up at her blue-haired friend with a dazed expression.  
  
" D-did I really see Goten turn into a...a..."  
  
" A Siberian Tiger," Bulma supplied helpfully. " And a really, really big one at that."  
  
Chi Chi nodded, eyes wide. " How?"  
  
" We'll get to that now that you're awake," she said wryly and Chi Chi had the decency to blush at that.  
  
" Okay..."  
  
Bulma helped the woman to her feet and she looked around for her son. Goku was standing in front of the tiger - 'her son', she thought faintly - grinning crazily as he pet the thick fur. Goten's eyes were closed a deep rumbling purr resonated throughout the room. Chi Chi then saw Trunks curled up in a corner of the couch, trying to hide himself - 'herself' she thought - in the safety of the cushions, eyeing the happy duo blackly.  
  
" Chi Chi! You're awake!" Goku motioned for her to come over. " Isn't this neat? Wow, I can't believe it - his fur's really soft too!"  
  
Goten watched his mother warily, as though expecting her to faint again. Chi Chi gave him a weak smile and then sat down quickly.  
  
" I would very much appreciate an explanation," she said calmly. Reaching out, she hesitantly scratched behind Goten's ear and was startled to hear that vibrating purr start up again. She looked at them weirdly. " Is he still Goten when he's like this? Or is he a cat - with a cat's mind?"  
  
" Oh, his mind's still there," Trunks said sourly. " I can hear him - he's telling you to scratch a little lower, behind his jaw."  
  
Chi Chi blinked but obeyed. Goten's tongue lolled out in ecstasy. " You can understand him?"  
  
Trunks nodded shortly. " Our curses are linked - one cursed form can understand another."  
  
" Is it...permanent?" Chi Chi held her breath.  
  
" No."  
  
Chi Chi was about to ask another question when Vegeta glared at her.  
  
" Let the brats tell the story woman!"  
  
Still too dazed to really take offence at Vegeta's tone, Chi Chi nodded and sat back again, still scratching the huge cat. Bulma looked at her son - or was that daughter now?  
  
" Trunks?"  
  
The lavender-haired girl sighed.  
  
" It all started yesterday afternoon when we went to the training grounds mentioned in the brochure. We were sparring on top of the poles that were there for that purpose when we struck each other and fell in..."  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
" Let's do it!" Trunks started off with an easy attack, trying to get a feel for the poles beneath his feet. He struck out with a crescent kick, which Goten dodged and he landed on the other side of him, turning in time to block Goten's instant return.   
  
" This isn't so bad!" Goten shouted gleefully as he tried to punch Trunks in the head. Trunks twisted out of the way, leaping into the air and connecting with a solid blow to the boy's ribs. Goten flew back but managed to catch hold of one of the longer poles, propping himself up until his balance was regained. Grinning, he then flung himself back at his friend who met him in midair.  
  
The two of them traded blows for a few seconds before they fell back to the poles, wavering slightly on the unfamiliar landing pads. Trunks looked down at the seemingly harmless pools that glinted serenely in the setting light and shuddered. Something didn't feel right.  
  
He didn't have time to dwell on it though - Goten was after him again and Trunks pushed off the stick, meeting Goten's kick with one of his own, blocking it firmly. They landed face-to-face and traded close-up jabs, pounding away at each other. Trunks managed to get in behind the black-haired boy and deliver a double-fisted blow to his exposed back. Goten fell forwards, bracing himself on four poles, one hand/foot on each pole. Sensing Trunks directly behind him, he put all of his weight on his hands and struck out with a mule kick that caught Trunks flush in the jaw, knocking him away. Getting to his feet, he brushed the hair out of his eyes.  
  
" This is so cool!"  
  
" Real cool," Trunks echoed dryly. The two leaped at each other again, and this time each connected solidly with the other. Simultaneous cracks rang out and the two began to fall.  
  
Trunks automatically tried to gather his ki to stop his descent and his eyes flew open as he remembered he couldn't call on his power. With the water getting closer, he reached out to grab a pole but it had been knocked away during their spar. Trunks held his breath as he prepared to hit the water. His last thought as he struck was that if he died from a haunted pool, he was going to resurrect himself and kill Goten.  
  
Then the waters closed over his head and he felt something tear at him, clawing from the inside-out. He opened his mouth to scream and inhaled a mouthful of water. The pain roared in his ears and he lashed out with his arms, striking furiously towards the surface.  
  
He broke the surface with a gasp and took a deep choking breath, expelling all the fluid in his lungs, coughing hoarsely.   
  
" G-Goten?" he garbled, catching his breath. Then he froze. Surely that hadn't been his voice, right? It was too high-pitched to be his. He stood up slowly out of the water and nearly fell over - his balance was off. He looked down at himself -   
  
And let out a piercing shriek. He had breasts! Trunks pulled back his tank top and looked down in complete and utter incomprehension. Yup - two of them.   
  
" What the hell?" she screamed. Was this what peach meant by a curse? Suddenly she heard a roar come from beside her and she looked up to see a huge tiger splashing its way out of the pool next to her. " Oh my god."  
  
Trunks had never seen a tiger that big before. Her eyes widened and her face went pale as the beast looked at her with an almost panicked expression. " Don't eat me!"  
  
" Eat you? Trunks - it's me! Goten! I'm a tiger! A TIGER!"   
  
Trunks gasped as she recognized her friends 'voice' emanating from the yowls and snarls of the tiger. " Goten?!?!?"  
  
" Trunks? You're a girl?" Goten's 'voice' took on an incredulous tone. " And what a girl!"  
  
Trunks blinked in confusion and looked down. Soaked right through, her tank top and training pants were plastered against her body, outlining every curve and leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. She blushed bright red and folded her arms around herself.  
  
" Hentai!" she shrieked. Then she screamed because she was now acting like one of those air-headed bimbos at school. " Oh kami-sama - Goten, what the HELL happened?"  
  
" This must be the curse Peach was talking about!" Goten whimpered. " Trunks, I don't want to be a tiger forever - what are we going to do?"  
  
" Why are you asking me?" Trunks shot back angrily. " YOU wanted to come here in the first place!"  
  
" Excuse me?" A voice cut through their shouting match. Goten and Trunks froze and looked over to the path that led to the training springs. A little old Chinese man stood there, leaning against his cane.  
  
" What?!?" snarled Trunks.   
  
" I am a guide for the resort, and I believe I can answer your questions for you. If you'll follow me?" The man didn't wait for them to follow before turning and walking back up the path. Trunks exchanged a look with the kerflummuxed tiger and motioned for him to follow the guide. Goten hung back a bit.  
  
" No, you go first." He leered at Trunks. " You make a cute girl!"  
  
" Pervert!" she hissed at him, bonking him on the head with her fist before running after the guide. Goten shook his head to rid himself of the little birdies flying around, and then bounded after them.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
" So," Trunks said sourly. " Because some girl drowned there thousands of years ago, anyone who falls in the spring turns into one. Same as the tiger pool?"  
  
The guide, who had introduced himself as Elder Lime, nodded sagely. " The same as every other pool that exists there. Each one has it's own curse."  
  
" So I'm going to be a tiger forever?" Goten yelped. The guide of course, didn't understand a word he said and looked at Trunks questioningly. Trunks repeated what he said, hoping against hope that the guide would be able to fix them.  
  
" I'm afraid so."  
  
" WHAT?!" Trunks jumped out of his seat, eyes wild. " No! I can't be a girl forever - my father will KILL me!" He looked at Goten, shaking. " You KNOW what he's like - heir to the throne, son to carry on the family bloodline - cripes Goten, I'm a freakin' dead man!"  
  
" Woman," the guide corrected him.  
  
" SHUT UP!"  
  
" Actually," the guide continued, unperturbed. " While the curse is permanent, the condition is not."  
  
" Meaning?"  
  
" Cold water is what triggers the transformation, " the guide told him. " Hot water will change you back."  
  
" But you said it was permanent..." Trunks's voice trailed off as he realized what that meant.  
  
" Yes," Elder Lime said, nodding his head. " Each time you are splashed with cold water, you will change."  
  
" Just great," Trunks moaned. " Why don't you have any fences around that damn place?"  
  
" Actually sir," Lime said sternly. " My granddaughter Peach warned you about the springs. If you choose to ignore her warnings, that is your own fault."  
  
" She didn't even explain WHY!" Goten snarled. Trunks translated, agreeing.  
  
" Would you have believed her?"  
  
Trunks paused at that, and looked over at his feline friend. " I guess not. But why not a fence or warning signs?"  
  
" We tried that years ago. The springs curse doesn't allow it." The guide shook his head. " Fences sank into quick sand that hadn't been there moments before. Warning signs rotted away over night. The springs are a mystical place - only those who are meant to end up falling in."  
  
" So you're saying we were destined to fall in?" Trunks asked in disbelief. " You think I WANT to be a girl?"  
  
" The world works in mysterious ways, " Elder Lime said, adjusting his robe. " Who am I to say what destiny lies ahead of you?"  
  
" Umm...hate to interrupt," Goten broke in. He sneezed. " But I'm cold - wet fur does that you know. If hot water changes us back, can someone please get some?"  
  
Trunks nodded and turned to the guide. " Where's your sink?"  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Trunks paused in her storytelling and took a sip of water. Around her, everyone leaned forwards in their seats, enthralled by the tale. Goten had dozed off, his head in his mother's lap as she absently continued to scratch his ears. Bulma had turned her chair around and was bracing her forearms on the chairs back, watching her son with avid interest.   
  
" Well?" she prodded. " Go on!"  
  
Trunks scowled and nodded reluctantly.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Goten very quickly learned a drawback to his cursed form. When he had changed for the first time in the pools, his tiger form had burst out of his training clothes, shredding them beyond repair. When Trunks splashed him with hot water from the taps, he reverted to his demi-saiyajin form, naked as the day he was born. Trunks' eyes widened and he turned away with a blush. Goten flushed even redder as he scrambled to hide himself behind a towel that the guide had so helpfully handed him.  
  
" Well," Trunks cleared his throat after a few minutes. " You're gonna have a problem."  
  
" You think?" Goten growled, tightening the towel around his hips. " Trunks, what am I going to do? If my clothes get destroyed every time I get stuck in the rain, I'll be out my entire wardrobe in a month!" He paced back and forth. " And every time I change back I'm naked!"  
  
'Ad this would be a bad thing how?' Trunks' mind automatically responded. Then he smacked himself in the forehead. He growled mentally at his traitorous hormones. 'Now is NOT the time for this!'   
  
He spoke up. " Maybe my mom can help with that."  
  
" Huh?" Goten stopped pacing and looked at him.  
  
" Well, she made that stupid Saiya-Man watch thing for Gohan, remember? All he had to do was press a button and his clothes auto-capsulated. Maybe we could rig something like that up that responds to your metabolism. Each time you change, the clothes disappear. And when you change back, there they are."  
  
" That could work!" Goten threw his arms around Trunks in a tight hug. " Trunks, you're a lifesaver!"  
  
" Heh." Trunks tensed under the close contact. " No problem."  
  
Goten released him and then sat back down. " I wonder if she could figure out a way to get rid of this curse for good?"  
  
" We could always use the Dragonballs," Trunks suggested. Then he swore. " Wait, they're not going to be ready for another year."  
  
" So we're stuck like this for one year then."  
  
" Unless you use the Nannichuan," the guide said innocently. Trunks and Goten looked up instantly.  
  
" Spring of Drowned Man? You mean it would turn us back into a guy permanently?" Goten asked eagerly. The guide nodded. Trunks leaped to his feet.  
  
" Then let's go!"  
  
" You can't," said Lime. " It disappeared thousands of years ago when a great battle was fought here. Many of the springs dried up for a long time until the waters finally ran again. But Nannichuan had been completely destroyed."  
  
" THEN WHY DID YOU EVEN MENTION IT?!?!" Trunks roared, completely frustrated.  
  
Elder Lime shrugged. " It's part of the story."  
  
Trunks hit the ground with a thud.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Bulma winced as her son's tone became more and more agitated as the story progressed. When he stopped to take another drink of his water, glaring at it as he did so, she stood up.  
  
" I think we need to take a short breather, Trunks," she suggested gently. Everyone agreed. Trunks blinked and nodded. Chi Chi still looked puzzled.  
  
" I still don't understand why you want to hurt Goten though," she insisted. " He was cursed like you were - why are you so angry?"  
  
Trunks growled at the sleeping Goten. " It's his fault we were there in the first place!"  
  
" But you didn't sound angry from what you were saying," she argued. " What happened?"  
  
" Oh, that's coming up next," Trunks muttered, yawning slightly. Bulma waved her hands.  
  
" Coffee anyone?"  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
End chapter 2  
  
  
Well? *blinks nervously* How was it?  
  
Stormy  
  
http://stormyfics.homestead.com  
The Chibi Chronicles! http://stormyfics.homestead.com/chibichronicles.html  
  
  



	4. Trunks's Wrath Revealed!

Hi hi!  
  
This part is dedicated to Susan and Laike-chan who have supported this fic since the teaser! Also thanks to everyone else who reviewed the first two parts - I wanted to hurry and get this out for all of you! *eyes Playa warily* Can I unlock my door now?  
  
^_^ Enjoy!  
  
  
Title: Curses!  
Author: Stormy  
Part: 3/?  
Archive: FFNet - anyone else, just ask. ^_^  
Comments: Yes please!  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
  
  
After a brief recess, the group settled back into the living room. As soon as he had been given leave, Trunks had immediately gone to the kitchen and changed himself back into a guy. He had eyed his father with some apprehension when he had re-entered the living room but his father had his own eyes closed. Trunks sank back into his chair, spirits flagging.  
  
Was his father upset that he had a son that was half girl? Did that make him weaker in his eyes? Trunks winced as he thought about some of the interesting developments he and Goten had noticed soon after the shock had sunk in and wondered what his father would have to say about...well, he'd get to that eventually.   
  
Bulma cleared her throat as she finished pouring Chi Chi her coffee and settled back onto her chair. Goten, having changed back, sat next to his mother, twisting his hands in his lap nervously. Every now and then he'd look up at Trunks with a guilty expression and flinch at the cool look he got in return.   
  
" Trunks?" Bulma prodded her son. Trunks scowled.   
  
" Let Goten."  
  
Goten blinked as all eyes fastened on him. " Uh..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Trunks and Goten silently made their way back to the resort where they were staying. The sun had completely set about an hour beforehand, and when Goten glanced back with a sigh, he could see the moonlight glinting off the cursed pools. He shuddered and resolutely turned his gaze forwards.  
  
Beside him, he could tell Trunks was extremely tense. His muscles were all tightened and bunched, and his fists were clenched as he strode purposefully. The muscle in his jaw was tensing too and Goten gulped inaudibly.  
  
" Trunks?" he ventured. " You okay?"  
  
" ..........Fine."  
  
Uh oh. Goten didn't like the sound of that hesitation. He decided to try and lighten the depressing atmosphere that surrounded them.  
  
" It could be kind neat," he said lightly. " I mean, transforming? How cool is that?"  
  
Trunks paused and levelled a flat expression at him. Goten 'meeped and ducked away, but Trunks didn't even raise his hand.  
  
Really not good.  
  
" At least both of us are cursed," he said quietly. " We both know what the other is going through, to some extent."  
  
Trunks' shoulders dropped and he sighed. " I guess so."  
  
" What's the matter Trunks?" Goten asked, wishing he could cheer his friend up. A depressed person by nature, Goten knew how quickly Trunks could sink into a mood where he cut himself off completely. He had talked his friend out of many funks over the years, and that experience was telling him Trunks was on the verge of falling again. " Talk to me."  
  
" I turn into a girl!" Trunks snapped, eyes flashing. " And you ask what's wrong?"  
  
" It could be worse-" Goten attempted but Trunks rounded on him.  
  
" Worse? WORSE? How can it be worse? I can't go home! How can I tell my father his son turns into a girl? You KNOW how he is - he won't even train Bra seriously because he thinks girls are too weak for fighting!"  
  
" You're not weak Trunks!" Goten protested.  
  
" As a guy, no. As a girl?" Trunks hands shook visibly as he raked one through his hair. " Tell me something Goten - did you notice anything different when you were a tiger?"  
  
" You mean besides the striped coat and tail?" Goten asked sarcastically. " No. Why?"  
  
" I have almost no power level."  
  
Goten stopped completely at Trunks' point-blank statement. " What did you say?" He concentrated for a second and shook his head. " No way - your power levels higher then mine."  
  
Trunks growled in frustration. " Didn't you hear what I said? As a GUY! When I'm a girl my power's non-existent!" He started walking again, faster this time, as though trying to outrun his thoughts. " When he was explaining curses and stuff, I tried to raise my ki a bit to dry off faster. I couldn't muster a spark."  
  
Goten blinked. " Maybe it was the shock of the transformation..."  
  
Trunks shook his head. " It took me a while to figure it out. Lime said I fell into the Spring of Drowned Young GIRL." He whipped his head to look at Goten with a dead serious expression. " NOT Drowned Young SAIYAJIN Girl."  
  
It took a minute but A finally connected to B and Goten's mouth dropped open. " You mean..."  
  
" As a girl, I'm completely human," Trunks bit off each word.   
  
Goten fell silent as he realized just what a big deal this was. Completely human - not a halfling. His powers non-existent. His thoughts raced. Trunks still had his martial arts training to fall back on, and his sword skills - but his power, his raw energy was gone, leaving him with a human's strength and ability.  
  
His eyes widened as he realized just why Trunks was so depressed. His father, though he cared for his children, had never made light of the fact that despite Trunks' incredible power that nearly rivalled that of Vegeta's, his son was still a half-breed. Half-breeds had been scorned upon by the Saiyajin race, believing them to weaker and inferior. Vegeta had grown past that mentality years ago, but Trunks had grown up for years believing that his father considered his human blood a taint, an insult to the royal line. Vegeta loved Bulma and his children but very rarely showed it, and even if Vegeta never believed that way of thinking, Trunks would never know it because the man was too damn stubborn to admit that he cared. It was a shame, because Trunks lived for the day when he could hear his father admit that he was proud of him.  
  
But now, Trunks turned into a full human, with absolutely no link to his Saiyajin blood in his cursed form. He let out a low whistle as he realized exactly what must be going through his friends head.  
  
" Trunks..."  
  
" My father will hate me," Trunks said softly, crossing his arms in a protective gesture as they continued walking, albeit slower this time. " Even more then usual."  
  
Goten didn't know what to say - only Vegeta could reassure his son, and he wasn't there. He cleared his throat.   
  
" I think you might be exaggerating a bit Trunks," he said slowly. " And even if you turn into a human, you can still increase your power - look at Krillin and Yamchua..."  
  
His voice trailed off as he remembered a sneering Vegeta condemning the abilities of the human Z senshi. Trunks gave him a dry look, the exact thought running through his head.  
  
" Now you get it."  
  
The two were silent all the way back to the resort.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
  
Peach opened the door before they could and ushered them inside, fussing over them in her distress. Goten could tell she had genuinely liked them, and was truly upset that they had fallen to the curse of Jusenkyo.  
  
" Peach, it wasn't your fault," he tried to reassure her. " You did warn us after all." His head dropped slightly and his tone was bitter. " I just don't do a very good job of listening."  
  
" You poor things," she clucked maternally at them and thrust hot cups of hot chocolate at them. While the weather was beautiful during the day, at night the temperature dropped dramatically, and even now they could hear the howl of the wind outside getting louder. Goten looked at Trunks whose head remained lowered, hair covering his eyes. He sipped the warm drink slowly.  
  
" Maybe we should head home and see if there's anything your mom can do," Goten said finally. " I mean, she's a genius. Maybe she can find something or create something that could prevent the change."  
  
Trunks lifted his head with a faint look of hope. " Maybe."  
  
" We could fly back tonight and be there in no time-"  
  
" You can't fly back tonight," Peach interrupted. " It's going to start raining any minute now, and it's supposed to last for a few days."  
  
Trunks' head thunked back to the tabletop. Goten sweat dropped and then had an idea. He reached over and snatched Trunks' cell phone out of the boy's jacket pocket.   
  
" Goten?"  
  
" I'll see if we can get a flight home tomorrow morning," Goten said punching in the phone number that Peach handed him, obviously thinking that same thing he was. As a hotel proprietor, she had to have all such numbers and contacts handy for her customers. A few minutes later, Goten hung up the phone and gave Trunks the thumbs up.  
  
" Early morning flight," he grinned. Trunks nodded. Peach patted his back soothingly.  
  
" I have many umbrella's you can choose from! Consider it a gift!"  
  
Trunks just groaned.  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
" Sorry for being so depressing," Trunks said to his friend the next morning. The flight had been relatively smooth, and while the demi-saiyajin was still a bit peeved at his friend for the whole mess they were in, getting a few hours sleep had let the shock sink in and disperse a bit, letting him wake up in a slightly better mood.  
  
Of course, seeing the rain outside his room had made him growl at the raven-haired boy over breakfast, but all in all, Trunks knew that he had been a bit over the top. At least he wasn't alone in this - Goten had suffered too.  
  
Still, a part of him was wishing he could have fallen into a different spring.  
  
Goten was chewing over something that had been bothering him all morning. He'd had a brief accident in the shower when he'd jumped in before the water had completely warmed up and had huddled in the shower for a few minutes as a bedraggled tiger, but he had clued into something he hadn't noticed the night before, and wouldn't even have considered if Trunks hadn't mentioned it the night before.  
  
" Trunks?"  
  
" What?"  
  
" How come I didn't feel a different level of power when I changed this morning?" He looked at his friend curiously. " Did you notice that about me last night?"  
  
Trunks nodded. " Your power level was still the same."  
  
" Why is that? You turn into a human girl with no power level, but I turn into a tiger and there's no change." Goten chewed his lip thoughtfully. " I don't get it."  
  
" I was thinking about that," Trunks said. " I figure it has to do with the fact that the Saiyajin race is so animalistic in nature - more feral, with more animal instincts. As a tiger, you probably have more in common with your Saiyajin side then you do as you are right now." He shrugged, looking back out the window. " At least, that's all I can think of."  
  
Goten marvelled at his friend's insight. " You're probably right Trunks! Wow." He blinked as he thought of something and began laughing. Trunks eyed him curiously.  
  
" What's so funny?"  
  
" I was just thinking about what would happen if I turned into a tiger while I was flying - I mean, mom think it's bad if people see US zooming around!"  
  
Trunks smiled faintly at that, letting out a small chuckle. Goten felt a victorious rush surge through him at finally breaking that blank expression. Suddenly Trunks buckled his seatbelt. Goten frowned.  
  
" What are you-"  
  
" Please fasten your safety belts as we will begin our descent in five minutes. Thank you." The loudspeaker shut off with a decisive snap. Goten looked at Trunks who had returned to staring out the window.  
  
" Show off."  
  
Trunks snickered.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
  
It seemed like Trunks was getting over being mad and Goten was starting to relax a bit. So they had curses - it's not like it was permanent right? In a year they could gather the Dragonballs and this would all be some kind of freaky memory. No sweat.  
  
He should have known better.  
  
The plane landed and Goten stood up, stretching his muscles. Used to flying under his own power across the skies, cramped airplane seats were really not that great a substitute. Beside him, the crackling noises issuing forth from Trunks' spine as he snapped the vertebrae back into place told him the Brief's heir was having the same problem.  
  
" At least it's over," he grinned. Trunks snorted as he grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.  
  
" Let's just get it over with."  
  
It was as they were walking down the aisle that the inevitable occurred. A flighty-headed stewardess noticed the handsome young men walking her way. Seeing as they were the last ones aboard, and from what she could tell, not wearing wedding bands, she decided to catch their attention. She picked up a tray of glasses and turned to them with a smile, intending to offer them some last minute refreshment.  
  
As mentioned - that was her intent.  
  
As she turned, her heel caught on the elevated ridge that ran along the airplane corridor and she stumbled forwards. One glass, perched precariously on the edge of the tray instead of being centred, tipped forwards, dousing the purple-headed one. The black-haired boy managed to leap backwards to avoid the splash. When the stewardess regained her footing, she came face-to-face with the lavender-haired...girl?  
  
" Hey! Weren't you a-"  
  
" Watch what you're doing!" Trunks shrieked at her, making her back away fearfully. Goten muffled a laugh behind him and Trunks whirled around, eyes flashing.   
  
" Don't you dare laugh Goten or I'll cut off your tail!"  
  
Goten looked confused. " But I didn't get wet-"  
  
" I don't mean the tiger one."  
  
Goten turned white and stopped laughing. Frozen, he decided to hang back a second until Trunks had stormed off the plane. He glanced at the stunned stewardess and took pity on her, surrounded by spilled glasses. He knelt down next to her.  
  
" Can I give you a hand?"  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Trunks started growling and Goten stopped talking, ducking behind his mother's shoulder. Bulma threw a napkin at her son.  
  
" Trunks!" Her voice softened. " You want to take over?"  
  
Trunks scowled and sank further down in his seat. " I think we've said enough for one day."  
  
Chi Chi frowned. " But I still don't understand why you're so mad!"  
  
Everyone stared at her. She blushed.  
  
" I mean, besides the obvious."  
  
" FINE!" Trunks shouted. " I'll tell you! Then I can actually get around to smashing Goten through the stratosphere!"  
  
Goten gulped as Trunks got to the point of their story.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
Trunks stomped out the doorway and thundered down the ramp to the tarmac, still steamed. Just as she was trying to put it out of her mind for a while, it got thrown right back in her face. There was just no escaping it - her life was at an all time low. It just couldn't get any worse.  
  
She should have known better.  
  
Still fuming, Trunks didn't watch where she was going and ploughed right into a human wall.  
  
" Oh!"  
  
Arms flailing, Trunks stumbled over a bag that had been left at her feet and pitched forwards. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for a rough landing.  
  
It never came.  
  
Two arms slipped around her waist and hauled her upright. Bracing herself on her rescuer's shoulder, Trunks looked up over her own with a grin.  
  
" Thanks pal-"  
  
" It was my pleasure miss," came a smooth voice. Trunks blinked. Her rescuer looked down at her with a dazzling smile. Golden blonde hair framed an angled face with two chips of blue trained on her with an intensity that would have scared her had she not grown up facing Vegeta's death glares all her life.   
  
" Uh.."  
  
" Please, allow me to introduce myself." The young man tossed his head back, letting the silky waves settle back around his shoulders. " I am Michael Sanzenine, descended from the greatest athlete of all time, the illustrious Mikado. "   
  
With a quick twist, Trunks was turned around in his arms, her face inches from his.  
  
" Hey! What are you-"  
  
" As payment for my dashing rescue of your delicate person, I'll accept a kiss as a token of your appreciation."  
  
Trunks growled. It was not the fact that she was in a man's arms - it was the fact that she was not in the arms of the man she would have preferred. She pulled back one fist - weak human girl or no, she still knew the principles behind driving a punch through the nasal cavity-  
  
" Trunks man, what's the hold up?"  
  
Goten bounded down the stairs not paying attention to where he was going. As he reached the bottom he tripped over the same bag that had knocked Trunks off-balance and he waved his arms to regain his balance. One arm struck Trunks in the back, forcing her forwards.  
  
Right into Michael.  
  
Trunks' eyes widened in shock as her lips pressed against the arrogant jerk. The man knew how to take advantage of her stunned position and quickly darted his tongue between her lips, his hands sliding lower down her back until with Trunks squeaked. Her mind crystallized in a flash and she lashed out instinctively, shoving Michael away from her violently. Without pausing, her fist snapped up catching him flush in the jaw knocking him far enough back to drive her foot in a spot that would practically guarantee the illustrious Sanzenine line had reached a painful end. Michael gasped, turned blue, and passed out.  
  
Goten blinked. " Trunks-"  
  
Trunks abruptly turned away from him and doubled over, vomiting. She coughed harshly, gagging as her stomach completely emptied itself onto the tarmac. It was too disgusting - she could still feel that jerk's slimy tongue forcing its way into her mouth, his hands touching him, grabbing-Trunks threw up again.  
  
Goten watched nervously. It had just caught up to him what had happened and he was scared out of his mind.  
  
He was in big trouble.  
  
" Uh Trunks?" he asked tentatively. He took a cautious step forward. " Are you-"  
  
Trunks straightened slowly, still facing away from him. She spat, trying to rid her mouth of the foul taste - whether that was Michael or vomit, she didn't know and didn't care. Her first official kiss of her life and it had been with a perfect stranger. A very dislikeable stranger. And it was thanks to Goten.  
  
She could handle this.   
  
Very calmly, she reached down and picked up her backpack from where it had fallen during the whole encounter and fastened it securely on her back. Still not looking, she spoke quietly, each word a chip of ice.  
  
" You get a five second head start."  
  
Goten gulped and backed away. Trunks may have been in human girl form, and it may have been very faint, but there was definitely some sort of battle aura flaring up around her. Not good.  
  
  
" Four."  
  
" Accident!" he choked out. " Accident!"  
  
" Three."  
  
Goten turned around to quickly and slipped on a puddle of water. His clothes ripped beyond repair as his tiger form burst free. Observers making their way across the tarmac began screaming that a tiger was on the loose. Throughout it all, Trunks never moved.  
  
" Two."  
  
Goten snatched up his bag in his teeth and looked up to see Trunks' sword yanked free from its sheath.  
  
" ONE!"  
  
Goten yelped and fled. Trunks, screaming and cursing a blue streak, followed hot on the big cat's paws, swinging her sword like a madwoman. The two practically blurred across the airstrip, leaped over the fence and vanished into the horizon.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
" You know the rest of it," Trunks finished sourly. Dead silence met his final statement as everyone absorbed what he had said. Trunks stood up and Goten gulped again.  
  
" Five seconds?"  
  
" Three."  
  
" Gotcha."  
  
Goten vanished out the living room door, and Trunks took off after him. Bulma blinked, dazed. Then her eyes fell on the floor by where Trunks had been sitting.  
  
" At least he left his sword."  
  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
End Chapter 3  
  
  
Is anyone else noticing a few similarities between what's happening here and what's in Ranma 1/2? I assure you - they are all intentional. How many references, obscure or obvious, can you spot? ^_^  
  
C&C please!  
  
Stormy  
  
http://stormyfics.homestead.com  
The Chibi Chronicles! http://stormyfics.homestead.com/chibichronicles.html  
  



	5. Reluctant Acceptance

Trunks settled himself into what had become a very familiar pose over the last few days. He wrapped his arms around his bent left leg, letting the right one dangle of the edge of the Capsule Corp building, sinking his head down to rest on folded arms. A slight breeze, nearly undetectable at ground level but easily felt at his altitude, whisked past him, ruffling his hair as it went.

It was a nice night out, he reflected, turning his face up to scan the distant sky for the first stars of the night. The setting sun created the perfect backdrop on the natural canvas.

It was strange how easily life had seemed to go on after the bomb he and Goten had dropped on their families only a few days before. Trunks smiled faintly as he recalled Chi Chi's dazed acceptance of the situation, requiring more then a little support when the family had headed home later that evening. Goten had been none the worse for wear after Trunks' temper tantrum – in looking back, trunks reflected that it wasn't really Goten he was mad at and the little chase scene he had indulged in had been more of a diversion tactic, letting them escape the room and the ominous presence of his father.

His father. Trunks blew out his breath in a snort. He still had no clue as to what his father made of the whole situation – Vegeta hadn't said too much after the 'family meeting' and had all but disappeared in the days since. Trunks would have known if his father had left the compound but the former Prince had merely shut himself into the gravity room as he always did, leaving Trunks to wonder if he was going to disown him this time.

A part of his mind argued that Vegeta wasn't biased against all females in general – his attitude towards Bra was a perfect example of how his father could be manipulated through the presence of tears and a perfectly practised, quivering  upper lip.

_But Bra is a half-saiyajin female,_ Trunks countered the point morosely. _She is therefore acceptable._ Then there was his mother, a formidable foe in her own right, matching her husband in wits and temper. Trunks had no illusions that he could live up to his mother's reputation, and truth be known, he had no wish to try. Another sigh escaped him. He didn't even really know if his father had been proud of him before the whole fiasco started. How did he feel now, knowing his son had a power level as a female that was lower then _Yamchua's_?

His thoughts were interrupted abruptly as an icy cold spray came out of nowhere, drenching the now-female half-saiyajin. Sputtering in shock and anger, she jumped to her feet, minding the ledge she'd been sitting on and rounded on her attacker, fists clenched.

Only to see it was her father, standing there with a neutral expression, a now empty glass in one hand. He tossed it aside carelessly and folded his arms, looking every inch the prince he was. Trunks gulped and lowered her arms, looking away in shame, silently waiting for the words of belittlement she was expecting.

Minutes passed and neither of them moved. Trunks could feel her father's gaze steadily boring into her like a drill and it tasted like accusation in her guilty mind. When it became apparent that her father seemed content to sit and stare, the defensive instinct she had cultivated over the years leaped to the forefront and she raised her eyes to stare back at her father.

" Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked, struggling to keep her emotions in check. Kuso, it had never been this hard before! _This female body must be more receptive to emotional stimulus. _If there was one thing Trunks had always perfected it was a true poker face, the blankest of cold expression. Her mother always said that her ability to hide emotions was one of the surest signs she was Vegeta's son. She flinched mentally. Daughter too, she amended, feeling vaguely sickened at the thought.

Vegeta merely raised a single eyebrow in response to her outburst and she clenched her fists again.

" Well?" she asked again, quieter this time, weariness overtaking her slender form.

Then her father spoke.

" What were you expecting me to say?"

Trunks head snapped up so fast she was surprised she didn't hear a whip shot go off. Her disbelieving eyes met her father's cool, impenetrable stare and she swallowed nervously. His tone hadn't given her a clue as to what his reaction was yet but the fact that he hadn't started ranting yet had given her a slight measure of hope. 

" I don't know," she answered, casting her eyes downward again. She was unprepared for the angry burst of ki that erupted from her father and she flinched back even though the spark was not directed at her specifically. Her flew back to her father's face and she saw the anger evident there.

" Tousan.."

" Nice to know you have such faith in me," Vegeta said coldly. His arms unfolded and one hand rested against his hip as he stared at his son/daughter. " You lied to me. You were expecting me to call you weak and do something as stupid as to denounce you as my son. Is that it?"

Trunks cringed and his father growled.

" My memory is impeccable brat, and I certainly do not recall my ever beating you outside of the training room. Do not dishonour me by thinking I'm about to start abusing my family now."

Her spine straightened.

Vegeta raked his eyes up and down his female form and Trunks endured it stiffly, knowing her father was currently assessing her power level, sizing her up so to speak. It would have come sooner or later and Trunks sighed, wanting to get it over and done with. Her father finished his evaluation with a snort and a toss of his head.

" Pitiful."

_Bingo._

" Bra's power level is higher then yours is."

_Uh-huh._

" You have about as much strength as your mother."

Here it comes… 

" It will take much training to get your power up in this form."

What?!? 

Trunks stared at her father as his arms crossed again. " What did you—"

Vegeta cut her off with a curt wave of his hand. " Your ears still work, don't they? I said it will take much training, but it can be done. " His upper lip raised in a faint sneer. " I refuse to have any of my offspring with a power level lower then that idiot Yamchua."

_At least my guess was right._ " You mean you'll train me?"

Vegeta levelled a glare at her that made her shrink back again.  " Baka. Who else would waste their time?"

Trunks felt a slow, small grin spread across her face and she cut it off before it could grow. Her father did care. He may not have the best or most tactful way of showing it, but he did care.

" Besides," Vegeta continued. " With your smaller frame, you might be even faster as a girl. You will also need to learn to switch forms without that idiotic display of panic I saw earlier – such distractions could cost you your life in a fight. And those—" he jerked a thumb at Trunks' chest and the lavender-haired girl's cheeks burned a faint red. "—will throw off your balance with your sword. There is much work that needs to be done."

Vegeta broke off his abnormally long tirade and stared hard at his son. " And I will not go easy on you."

Trunks suddenly felt a little lighter. " Hai, 'Tousan. I'll work hard."

The slight breeze she had felt earlier reappeared with a vengeance and she shivered with the cold before she could stop herself. Her father snorted.

" Dry yourself with your ki."

" But—"

" DO IT."

Trunks' mouth snapped shut and she nodded her head vigorously. Obviously this was the first of what she knew would be many tests and she resolved herself that she would not fail in this.

She reached into the core of her, searching out her centre as she hadn't had to do in years, ever since tapping into her ki had become instinctual. She still recalled the basics, the theory behind ki manipulation and she put that knowledge to the test.  Straining her senses, her eyes closed and wrapping her mind around the ball of light she could feel, she tugged.

Nothing.

She could feel her father's impatience and she had a moment of internal panic, knowing how quickly it could change to anger. Her father might change his mind if she couldn't even do enough of a flare to dry the beads of water still dotting her face and neck. Then her own anger joined in her renewed efforts – human side now or not, she was still the firstborn of the Prince of all Saiyajins and one of the strongest-willed humans on earth. 

Trunks recalled the anger and shock she had been feeling ever since that fateful day and used it, adding it as fuel to the fire doing a slow burn inside of her. All of her emotion rose, shocking even herself with its intensity and she remembered briefly, an article she had once read that females were more susceptible to emotional outbursts. It certainly seemed true now. Adding to the fire was the brief image she had of Gohan's mate flying around with ease. If Videl could access her ki, then SO COULD SHE!

Trunks screamed as she focused her waning power, coaxing it into existence and as she felt the winds kick up she felt a brief surge of satisfaction that not all of her power had disappeared. She opened her eyes to see her father eyeing her with – dare she say it – approval on his face and she looked down to see her clothes completely dry and the grass beneath her feet burned away. Whoops.

Her anger left her as it was replaced by elation and with the loss of her energy source, her power left just as quickly. The slight wind she had conjured up dissipated and she raised a triumphant gaze to her father.

" There," she panted. " No problem."

Then her eyes rolled up into the back of her head as the last bit of her energy left her in a rush and she vaguely heard a muttered " baka" before everything went dark.

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Goten sat at the kitchen table with his father, picking at his food. Every now and then he looked up at his mother who was washing dishes at the sink just as fast as Goku dirtied them. He had been walking around on eggshells with regards to his mother, wondering if she was truly accepting this or if she was storing up this particular tirade for a time when she could really cut loose.

It wasn't as though it were that bad, he reflected. It certainly wasn't as bad as Trunks' situation – at least he knew his father wouldn't blast him to hell for turning into a weak female. Goten grinned. If anything, his power was a little bit stronger in his tiger form, a testament to Trunks' earlier statements about his cursed form being closer to his Saiyajin nature.

His grin faded as he thought about Trunks. He hoped his best friend was all right. When they had all left the Brief's residence only short days before, he had seen the cool look Vegeta had given his son before going to the gravity room. Trunks had a severe inferiority complex when it came to his father and the expectations Trunks was to live up to.

His thoughts were interrupted as a bowl slammed down in front of him and then his mother was there, eyeing him with concern.

" Goten-chan? Are you alright? You've barely touched anything."

Goten swallowed and looked at his mother. Chi Chi was a formidable woman and few would ever dare challenge her on any matter. Even Yamchua, Tien and yes, even Piccolo shied away from setting off his mother's famous temper. Doing so now was the last thing he wanted.

" 'Kaasan?" he ventured quietly. Chi Chi's look of concern seemed to up a notch at the almost meek tone of her youngest son's voice. Even Goku's ears had pricked up and he turned his head to listen, a few stray grains of rice sticking to his face.

" Yes, Goten?"

" Are you…all right with this?" He forced himself to look his mother in the eye. " I mean, the transforming thing…"

Chi Chi was silent for a few minutes as she collected her thoughts. Years ago she would have ranted and screamed about how unfair it was that life kept shifting, turning her world into something she wasn't familiar with, and her son turning into a giant tiger certainly registered as being one of the stranger things she'd had to deal with.

But the other part of her cried out in motherly concern at the fear in her son's eyes and she had a brief moment of satisfaction of knowing that it was the fear every young boy had – the fear of losing the mother's love, and she knew that only she held that power over her Saiyajin son, regardless of how powerful he was. It was a bond beyond power levels, beyond bluster and arrogance and sheer energy. And she knew, as she looked into the wary eyes of whom she would always consider her little boy and she hastened to reassure him in a way only a mother could.

" You're my son, Goten," she said quietly, and she knelt down beside him, wrapping her arms around her youngest. It was a tough job as Goten had filled out quite substantially during these past few years but then he made the task easier by lifting his own arms and engulfing his mother in a bear hug that soon had her gasping for breath.

" g-Goten-chan!" she wheezed and her son sheepishly let her go, rubbing the back of his head in the same manner Goku often did. She chuckled and ruffled his hair fondly. 

Goku watched his family with a big smile on his face. For all the time he had been thought to be dumber then the rest, he now watched his wife, proud of the way she had handled it, and had the satisfaction of knowing she would do exactly what she had. His wife was a stern taskmaster but beneath her rough exterior was a warm passionate woman and a loving mother who would go to the ends of the earth for her family. He knew she would accept her son, no matter what.

Little did he know that her resolve had yet to be truly tested. As Goten sat back down to finish his dinner – or start, in this case – his thoughts turned to a certain lavender-haired boy who turned from a God into a Goddess – and nearly drooled into his mashed potatos. Guy or girl, Trunks was definitely beautiful. And as the thought of two Trunks – one male, one female – laying beside him, warming his bed entered his mind, he grinned, knowing his dreams that night would be sweet indeed.

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Feedback onegai??


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